Crooks and Crystals (A Hocus Pocus Cozy Witch Mystery Series Book 3)

by Constance Barker

  Celestial nodded. “I understand.”

  “I’m sorry about this.” Samantha stood up, pushing back her chair. “Thanks for the tea.”

  “Did you want some lotion or soap? I can put it on account for you if you’re short.”

  Samantha smiled. “Okay.”

  Celestial wrapped up the package and the genuine gratitude in Samantha’s eyes touched her. Making people happy was more important than profits.

  Samantha waved as she left, the door rattling at her exit. Immediately Athena buzzed around Celestial’s head and a bright butterfly spiraled down from the roof to alight on a wicker chair, becoming Tamara in a bright flash of light.

  “Well, she has a motive.” Athena muttered, far too loudly for a dragonfly.

  “I think you have a suspicious nature.” Celestial murmured back, amused.

  “She’s pretty angry.” Tamara said, curling up in the chair. “Martin would have gone out to the woods if she asked him, too.”

  Celestial nodded slowly. “A much better chance of him going with her than Morgana.”

  “Definitely.” Athena agreed.

  “She did seem pretty upset about losing her job, though.” Celestial thought aloud.

  “Oh, don’t give me that.” Athena buzzed. “She might have forgotten about that until after he was dead.”

  Celestial laughed, shaking her head. “That seems unlikely, but okay.”

  “I agree.” Tamara said. “She could have been so angry she lured him out there forgetting that he was her paycheck.”

  “I’m not sure that idea has weight.” Celestial smiled at her two friends while her mind worked. “But it is true that she had just as much of a motive as Morgana, with an even better chance of getting him out there alone.”

  Tamara nodded. “We can’t rule her out.”

  “Definitely not.” Celestial said, a little absently. “But we can’t put her at the top of the list, either.”

  Celestial moved over to the table to make some tea for herself and Tamara, knowing that she needed more facts. The trouble was, she didn’t know where to find them.

  Chapter 7

  Later that evening, Celestial still had a head full of suspects. Walking through the small shopping complex, she turned her thoughts to her groceries and tried to put the murder out of her mind.

  She had made it two steps into the grocery store when she heard raised voices. With a deep sigh she hurried out, chasing the commotion. She just wasn’t the kind of person who could walk away from conflict. Not when someone was being hurt and she could stop it.

  Just outside the pharmacy, Morgana stood in a group of people. She was backing away into a corner at the front of the shop, holding a large package. Even though Celestial knew that Morgana always stood up for herself, she appeared to be sinking under the crowd of hecklers.

  “We all know you did it,” one woman sneered.

  “Even a horrible man like him didn’t deserve to die that way.” An old man snapped.

  “Repent!” An old lady pointed straight at Morgana. This voice seemed to galvanize the rest, all of them moving in on Morgana and increasing the volume of their accusations.

  “Hey!” Celestial pushed through, standing in front of Morgana. “Leave her alone! She’s not the killer.”

  “Well, of course you would stick up for her.” The voice rose over the crowd, its owner unclear through the rumbles of the mob. “You got away with murdering your cousin. You can say whatever you want.”

  Celestial spun around, looking for the owner of the voice. There were too many people calling out and jostling each other for her to see who it was. She turned to look at Morgana who just shook her head.

  “They won’t stop, Celestial. I’ve got to get out of here.” Morgana clutched her package against her chest. “I need to get this home to Jenna.”

  “She’s out of the hospital?”

  “Only just. I came out to get her painkillers and antibiotics. She’s not in a good way at all, Celestial.”

  No matter what her personal feelings were about the case, it hurt to see a fiery woman like Morgana quietly withdrawing instead of fighting for herself.

  “You should be ashamed to show your face around here.” A woman in the front of the crowd leaned in as if to poke at Morgana.

  “Back off!” Celestial exclaimed, seeing the crowd getting thicker. She sighed, looking back at Morgana, who was getting close to despair. There was no exit close by that didn’t involve pushing through the crowd.

  As she looked around, she saw the flower shop nearby and wondered if they could escape that way. Just as she was about to grab Morgana and haul her through the entranceway hoping to find another exit, Helen Argent blocked the door.

  She paused almost theatrically, bending her head to the massive bouquet of roses in her arms. She closed her eyes as she took in the scent, raising her head slowly as she gathered the roses to her chest. When she opened her eyes, Celestial was staring straight at her.

  “Aren’t they lovely?” Helen said casually, as if she didn’t notice the commotion. “Just spellbinding.”

  Celestial instantly boiled over with questions but couldn’t stop Helen and guard Morgana at the same time. Helen walked swiftly through the crowd, chuckling as she passed by. Celestial narrowed her eyes and watched her go, thinking of rose petals and all the spells that could be cast with them.

  From behind her, Morgana reached out and grabbed her hand. The hecklers were starting up again, getting closer. Almost frantic, Celestial looked back into the shop, hoping for an exit.

  The pharmacy was almost empty now and Celestial saw George de la Cygne stacking his arms with syringes and needles from a bottom shelf. She knew his mother was diabetic, but he seemed to be buying quite a lot of syringes.

  Morgana squeezed her hand and Celestial brought her attention back to the mob. Morgana’s lip was trembling and Celestial knew she was about to lose it. Right now, the only thing Morgana cared about was Jenna, these people were stopping her from helping her sister and that was all that mattered.

  “You don’t bother to respond to the accusations against you, do you?” The high-pitched sneer came again from the middle of the crowd. Celestial tried to find the owner of the voice but couldn’t.

  “That’s because the case is closed and you need to check your facts.” She said tightly.

  “Whatever facts your friend Nikoli approves.” Came the reply.

  Celestial saw red at that comment, but she didn’t lose her cool. Keeping a grip on Morgana’s hand, she started inching towards the parking lot.

  The mob turned to face them as they moved away but Celestial could see people starting to disappear from the back of the crowd. Typical mob mentality—they got bored easily.

  “Thank you, Celestial.” Morgana’s voice was croaky from holding in tears. “It’s happening everywhere I go. I just want it to be over.”

  “I know you do, honey. Just get home to Jenna for now, okay?”

  “I will. She’s waiting for me.”

  “Maybe just… Try to stay home for a while.”

  Morgana smiled. “I think that might be great advice.”

  “I’ll do whatever I can to help you, you know that.”

  “I do. Thanks Celestial. Thank you for believing in me.”

  “Any time.” Celestial said softly, watching Morgana walk away across the carpark.

  Murder was a dirty enough business without dragging people she loved into it. When would it truly be over?

  Chapter 8

  After her trip to the grocery store, Celestial couldn’t relax. She wasn’t distracted by the fancy ice cream she had bought and she couldn’t focus on any of the TV shows she tried to watch.

  She thought about running a bath, but she knew she was too restless to settle into the hot water. Her fingers itched as if she wanted to be spell casting, but that was a terrible idea when your mind was uneasy.

  “You look like you have a bug in your bonnet.” Athena buzzed, al
most laughing at her own joke. Celestial smiled.

  “I might, but it's not as annoying as you.”

  “Well I never.” Athena did a stagger in the sky. “you must be in a terrible mood.”

  “Not terrible… Exactly. I’m just anxious.”

  “And you can’t sit still. Are you sure you’re not seeing other insects?”

  Celestial had to laugh and Athena buzzed happily around her head, flicking her wings. Athena considered keeping Celestial cheerful one of her most important jobs.

  “Thank you, Athena. I’ve just figured out that there’s something I have to do and I’m trying to talk myself out of it.”

  “Sounds exciting.”

  “Yeah. Probably. Not smart though. I need to go to Martin’s house.”

  “Isn’t Nikoli on that?’

  “Yeah.” Celestial laughed. “Maybe in the next five years. He’s always talking about procedure, but he goes through everything with such a fine-toothed comb it takes him forever to get anywhere. I don’t think police procedure is enough of an excuse.”

  “Maybe he’s waiting for you.” Athena laughed. “You always seem to get into other peoples houses and get the evidence before he can, anyway!”

  “I agree. He does seem to be lagging.” Celestial chewed her lip a little.

  “Not a man of action, then.”

  “Sadly, no.” Celestial said, thinking of more than murder cases.

  “It’s a bad idea, you know that.”

  Celestial grinned. “I seem to have a lot of those. Come on, Athena. After all the breaking and entering I’ve already done, you want to chicken out now?”

  “Excuse me!” Athena’s high, buzzy voice went into overdrive. “Have you ever met a chicken?”

  Celestial burst out laughing. “Why?”

  “Because they are machines of terror.”

  “You’re an insect.”

  “That doesn’t change my statement.”

  Celestial stood quietly, closing her eyes and relaxing herself.

  “I’m going.”

  “I’ve got your back, but I still say this is a terrible idea. Why don’t we just sit down and have some ice-cream—”

  “It will be here when we get back.” Celestial whispered, feeling the magic sweeping her skin as she started to apparate.

  Her senses returned to her quickly, showing her the murky dark of Martin’s kitchen. She didn’t worry about the sulphur smell, knowing that the house would be empty.

  Athena’s wings clicked by her ear as she started to move through the house. Her little familiar flew ahead of her, the delicate body of the dragonfly able to sense the slightest changes in the air. Celestial always felt connected to her familiar’s senses, even when they were far apart. It gave her strength and confidence to know her familiar was near.

  Between the two of them, they had the intuition and power to handle almost anything.

  The first room she came to was Martin’s study and she went straight to the desk. Piles of books and papers were stacked on the corners with a ledger right in the center. She flicked through a few pages, seeing that it was an accounts book for the business. Thinking about Samantha, Celestial realized these books could be full of valuable information.

  Just as she was about to sit down and have a look, she noticed the pile of books at the edge of the table were almost identical to the main account book. She went through the pile roughly, soon realizing that they were account books as well. They didn’t look that different to the first one, but Celestial would have to go through them carefully to find out the details.

  Just as she was about to examine the account books, she noticed the corner of a photograph sticking out of a stack of papers. She pulled it out and was surprised to see a picture of Helen.

  “I didn’t know they knew each other.” She murmured. She flipped the photo and saw the cute message on the back that Helen had penned. It was definitely a personal gift to Martin. The information had her mind reeling.

  A huge crashing sound shattered the silence. Celestial jumped a mile, then froze as if she had been physically struck by the noise. The crashing sound came again and she realized that someone was kicking in the back door.

  She gathered up the books and tucked the photo inside, hurrying out of the study and down the hall. Athena came buzzing through, chasing Celestial through the house.

  “You have to go, now!” Her little buzzy voice was higher pitched than ever.

  “What if it’s the killer?”

  “What, you want to stay?” Athena’s shock was evident, even on the face of a dragonfly.

  “Well no. I don’t want to get killed, obviously! But I might learn something.”

  “Are you serious?” Athena dipped in the sky, fluttering her wings by Celestial’s ear. “I think all this sleuthing stuff has gotten to you. You’re not Nikoli.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.” Celestial muttered.

  The crashing noise came again. Athena buzzed around Celestial’s head even faster.

  “You have to go! Now!”

  Chapter 9

  Athena fluttered close to Celestial’s ear, sending a shiver down the witch's back. The thudding against the door of the office continued.

  “Celestial, I’ll stay and see what I can. They’ll never notice me in the dark, so there's nowhere for you to hide. Get out of here now!” Athena whispered. There was a loud crack of splintering wood. Whoever was coming through that door was strong. “Now, Celestial!!!” Athena said urgently.

  “All right, all right...” Celestial knew the dragonfly was right. She clutched the books and picture to her chest and prepared to apparate. Just as the room faded out of her sight she caught a glimpse of someone with a hoodie and a mask on. She hoped they hadn’t seen her... and she hoped Athena was safe.

  Celestial realized her hands were shaking and laid the account books and the picture of Helen down. She switched on the small lamp on her desk and took a few deep breaths of the soothingly scented air of her shop. The smell of herbs never failed to bring her back to the present.

  * * *

  As soon as Celestial disappeared, Athena flew behind a curtain. In the gloomy office, she was sure the intruder wouldn't notice her. She hoped it wasn't someone familiar with the sulfuric scent of a witch apparating away. Even through the scent, she could smell something else. With a start, she realized it was the person with the mask. She could smell alcohol on them strongly. She peered out from behind the curtain.

  The person had their back to her and they were searching through Martin Zeller's desk drawer, tossing things out haphazardly. It was obviously not a professional sneak who planned to replace everything as it had been. The person was muttering. Athena couldn't make out the words, but the voice sounded taut with frustration. The person slammed the drawer shut suddenly with a loud curse. Athena moved backward, deeper into the shadow, but the person was already storming out of the office without a backward glance. They left the desk covered in the papers they had scattered around. Athena apparated back to Herbal Heaven as soon as the footsteps had faded from earshot.

  Celestial was standing behind the counter, wringing her hands and clearly anxious about her familiar. As soon as she spotted Athena, she let out a sigh of relief.

  "Are you ok?" Celestial asked.

  "I'm fine," Athena said, perching on the counter. She shook her wings slightly and rearranged them, and they glinted prettily in the dim light from the desk lamp.

  "So?" Celestial asked, impatiently after a moment.

  "I don't know who it was," Athena said with a sigh. "Someone came in with a baggy black hoodie and a black mask on. I couldn't tell anything for sure... but I felt like it was a man. Or maybe a tall woman. The person was muttering but I couldn't make anything out other than a couple of swear words. The voice did sound fairly low. Then again, they were trying to be quiet."

  "You think it was a man, though?" Celestial pressed.

  "Yes. Just my gut feeling. There was a strong smell of alc
ohol on the person. They seemed angry. They didn't stay for very long." Athena said, trying to remember anything useful.

  "So then probably not Samantha or Morgana. Though Morgana is fairly tall," Celestial said thoughtfully, sitting down in the chair by her computer and running a hand through her brunettee hair. She could feel a headache threatening to come on.

  "It could be someone who is helping them. A brother or cousin," Athena suggested.

  "The plot thickens," Celestial said, smiling at Athena. "Thanks for staying behind. I wonder what they were looking for? It could be notes or pictures of Samantha or Morgana. Or maybe I'm going down the rabbit hole and it's something else entirely..." she mused.

  Suddenly a misty white orb appeared out of thin air. Celestial shook her head in confusion. What witch would be calling upon her so late? It had to be Dakota or Tamara. She reached out and touched the orb lightly, and her friend Tamara Scott's face appeared in it.

  "Tamara, what are you doing up so late?" Celestial asked, smiling.

  Tamara smiled back. "I had a feeling you were in trouble, Celestial. I couldn't sleep without checking in," she said. Her usually neat black hair was in a messy bun and Celestial could see the collar of her flannel pajamas.

  "You know me too well," Celestial admitted, flushing in embarrassment. She recounted her visit to Martin Zeller's office and everything she had learned to her friend. Tamara was a great listener.

  "Be careful, Celestial. There's something strange going on and I don't want to have to rescue you. I already have my pajamas on," Tamara said, smiling. There was real worry behind her green eyes, however.

  "I will be. Besides, Athena is keeping an eye on me." Celestial said, looking down at the dragonfly, who had fallen asleep on the desk. "Goodnight, Tamara," Celestial said. She reached out and tapped the orb again, and it disappeared just as suddenly as it had appeared.